Detective agencies in Mumbai have received requests from youngsters to keep an eye on their fathers, suspecting that they might have extra marital affairs.

Parents hiring detectives to keep a watch on their children during Navratri is a common occurrence, but this Navratri, the trend seems to have reversed. Detective agencies in Mumbai have received requests from youngsters to keep an eye on their fathers, suspecting that they might have extra marital affairs.

Detective Utpal Chaudhary has so far got five cases in which young boys from rich families have paid him to spy on their father. “In most cases, suspicion of the boys grew when their fathers started coming late since Saturday when the festival started,” said Chaudhary.

Although limited in number at present, such cases are on the rise, said most detectives.

The cases of checks on children and spouses, a regular feature for detectives every Navratri, have also gone up. Chaudhary’s firm is managing around 80 cases, which include spying on children, parents and spouses, this year.

Most detectives extensively use technology to give realtime updates to their clients. Photographs are immediately sent out by email or visuals are streamed through a video call.

Detective Rahul Rai, who is handling around 40 cases during Navratri this year, said most cases he gets are of parents wanting to keep a watch on their kids.

Every year, during Navratri, such cases go up by nearly by 20-25%, said detectives, adding that in the last five years, there has been a steady increase and their work peaks during the festival.